Suggestions as You Type

You don't need to finish typing — the search bar proposes matches the moment you start. Accepting a suggestion is often faster and more accurate than typing the whole word, and it helps you discover what's actually in your library.

What the Dropdown Shows

As soon as you type one or two characters, a dropdown opens with several kinds of help. You'll see some or all of these, depending on what matches:

Instant autocomplete

A short list of words that complete what you're typing. These come from filenames, titles, tags, captions and other text in the library. Think of it like Google's autocomplete — you type sum and see summer, summit, summary.

Tags

Existing tags that match your input. Selecting a tag instantly filters the gallery to everything carrying that tag, without having to remember the exact spelling.

Collections

Collections whose name matches your input. Selecting one jumps you to assets inside that collection.

Specific assets

If your text closely matches one particular asset's title or ID, that asset appears directly in the dropdown so you can open it in one click.

Fields you can search on

Suggestions like title:, description:, created by:, or location: help you focus your search on one specific field. Click one, then type your value — for example location: Paris to find only assets with Paris in the location field.

Recent searches

If you've searched for the same term before, it shows up with a small clock icon so you can repeat a useful search in one click.

Ideas from your library

Concept suggestions (described in Searching by Meaning) surface related ideas drawn from the actual contents of your assets.

How to Use It

1. Click into the Search assets… field.
2. Type one or two characters — the dropdown opens automatically.
3. Browse the suggestions:
   • Click a suggestion to apply it immediately.
   • Or use the Up and Down arrow keys and press Enter to pick one with the keyboard.
4. To close the dropdown without selecting anything, press Esc or click elsewhere.

Keyboard Shortcuts

• ↑ / ↓ — move through suggestions.
• Enter — accept the highlighted suggestion, or submit what you've typed if nothing is highlighted.
• Esc — close the dropdown.
• Tab — accept the first autocomplete suggestion without leaving the text field.

Tips

• Type slowly enough to see results — the dropdown updates after a short pause. On a phone the pause is slightly longer; on a laptop it's almost instant.
• Use field suggestions for precision. If you want only titles matching Q3 launch, pick the title: field suggestion and type your value after it. Only titles will be searched.
• Watch for tag versus free-text. A tag suggestion (with a small tag icon) filters by that exact tag, while an autocomplete word searches the text of your library.
• Recent suggestions are private. Other users see their own recent searches, not yours.

What You Won't See (By Design)

• The dropdown usually hides below one character of input — suggestions need at least one letter to begin and at least two letters before the richer results like tags and collections appear.
• If there are no matches at all, the dropdown stays closed rather than showing empty sections.
• Assets you don't have permission to view will never appear as suggestions.

Troubleshooting

The dropdown isn't appearing

• Make sure the search bar has focus (click inside it).
• Type at least one letter. If nothing shows at one letter, try two or three — some suggestions only appear after you've typed a little more.
• Check that you're not on a very slow connection — the dropdown waits for a brief moment before asking the server for results.

I see a suggestion that no longer exists

Suggestions are usually accurate, but if you click one and get no results, the underlying tag or asset may have just been renamed or deleted. Re-open the search and the dropdown refreshes with the latest content.